BILL NUMBER: AB 1228	CHAPTERED  10/10/99

	CHAPTER   890
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   OCTOBER 10, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   OCTOBER 9, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 7, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   SEPTEMBER 2, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 31, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JULY 14, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 24, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 28, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Committee on Agriculture (Cardoza (Chair), Maldonado
(Vice Chair), Brewer, Florez, Reyes, Thomson, and Wiggins)

                        FEBRUARY 26, 1999

   An act to amend Section 2282 of, to amend, repeal, and add Section
224 to, to add Section 2287 to, and to add and repeal Sections 2282
and 2282.5 of, the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to
agriculture, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1228, Committee on Agriculture.  Agriculture:  plant and animal
pest control.
   (1) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of Food and Agriculture
or the Director of Pesticide Regulation to allocate annually to each
county an amount determined by the secretary or the director not to
exceed 1/3 of the amount expended by the county during the previous
fiscal year for the programs of joint responsibility under the
jurisdiction of the secretary or director, as applicable.
   Existing law also requires money transferred by the Controller to
the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund from the Motor Vehicle
Fuel Account to be expended by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture,
as specified.
   This bill, until July 1, 2001, would amend this latter provision
to specify that, for reimbursement purposes, first priority shall be
given to partially reimburse counties for the cost of carrying out
those programs reported pursuant to paragraph (1) above, and second
priority shall be for up to full reimbursement within the same fiscal
period plus 60 days for expenditures incurred by the county in
accordance with a budget approved by the department for programs
dealing with high-risk pest exclusions and noxious weeds.
   (2) Until July 1, 1999, the Department of Food and Agriculture was
responsible under provisions of law to develop work plans for
allocation of funding appropriated to the department in the Budget
Act of 1998 for local assistance for agricultural plant and animal
pest and disease prevention.
   This bill, until July 1, 2000, would assign to the department the
responsibility of developing work plans for allocation of the funding
appropriated in the Budget Act to the department for local
assistance for agricultural plant and animal pest and disease
prevention.  The bill would make related changes.  The bill also
would specify that, of the amount appropriated in the Budget Act to
the department for local assistance for agricultural plant and animal
pest and disease prevention, $5,500,000 shall be utilized solely for
high-risk pest exclusion activities.
   (3) Until July 1, 1999, a county agricultural commissioner was
authorized under provisions of law to enter into a mutual aid
agreement with other counties, as prescribed, to carry out prescribed
crop, inspection, and pest management programs.
   This bill would reenact these provisions without a repeal date,
thereby continuing them indefinitely.
   (4) The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 224 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
amended to read:
   224.  Money transferred by the Controller to the Department of
Food and Agriculture Fund from the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account
pursuant to Section 8352.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall be
expended by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture as follows:
   (a) Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of the amount
transferred each fiscal year is hereby appropriated for reimbursement
for charges for state administrative costs, and for departmental and
divisional overhead expense apportioned to the Department of Food
and Agriculture Fund.
   (b) One million dollars ($1,000,000) each fiscal year is hereby
appropriated to be used only for emergency detection, eradication, or
research of agricultural plant or animal pests or diseases, during
the fiscal year.  The Secretary of Food and Agriculture may expend
the funds with the approval of the Director of Finance.  At the end
of each fiscal year, any unencumbered balance of those funds shall be
added to the amount available for payment to counties during the
next fiscal year, as provided in subdivision (c).
   (c) The total amount transferred during each fiscal year less the
amounts provided in subdivisions (a) and (b), is hereby appropriated
to be paid to the counties as follows:
   (1) First priority shall be partial reimbursement of any county's
prior year net general fund county cost for carrying out agricultural
programs authorized by this code that are supervised by the
department.
   (2) Second priority shall be up to full reimbursement within the
same fiscal period plus 60 days for expenditures incurred by the
county in accordance with a budget approved by the department for
programs dealing with high-risk pest exclusion and noxious weeds.
   (3) Reimbursements shall not exceed the total amount transferred
by the Controller to the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund from
the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account pursuant to Section 8352.5 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code, and shall be apportioned to the counties
by the secretary in relation to each county's expenditures to the
total amount expended by all counties for the preceding fiscal year
for such agricultural programs, as determined by the secretary.  The
amount to be transferred to any county for a fiscal year may be
increased or decreased by the secretary to provide that, insofar as
those transferred unclaimed refundable gas tax funds for
apportionment to the counties are available, no county shall receive
smaller combined apportionments of gas taxes and unclaimed refundable
gas taxes than that county would have received had the gas taxes
been apportioned without the transfer required by Section 8352.5, as
determined by the secretary, except that the amount of unclaimed
refundable gas tax funds to be transferred to any county for a fiscal
year may be increased or decreased by the secretary to compensate
for incorrect previous transfers to that county.
   (d) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2001,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that
is enacted before July 1, 2001, deletes or extends that date.
  SEC. 2.  Section 224 is added to the Food and Agricultural Code, to
read:
   224.  Money transferred by the Controller to the Department of
Food and Agriculture Fund from the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account
pursuant to Section 8352.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall be
expended by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture as follows:
   (a) Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of the amount
transferred each fiscal year is hereby appropriated for reimbursement
for charges for state administrative costs, and for departmental and
divisional overhead expense apportioned to the Department of Food
and Agriculture Fund.
   (b) One million dollars ($1,000,000) each fiscal year is hereby
appropriated to be used only for emergency detection, eradication, or
research of agricultural plant or animal pests or diseases, during
the fiscal year.  The Secretary of Food and Agriculture may expend
the funds with the approval of the Director of Finance.  At the end
of each fiscal year, any unencumbered balance of those funds shall be
added to the amount available for payment to counties during the
next fiscal year, as provided in subdivision (c).
   (c) The total amount transferred during each fiscal year less the
amounts provided in subdivisions (a) and (b), is hereby appropriated
to be paid to the counties as partial reimbursement for county
expenses for carrying out agricultural programs authorized by this
code that are supervised by the department.  The payment shall be
apportioned to the counties by the secretary in relation to each
county's expenditures to the total amount expended by all counties
for the preceding fiscal year for such agricultural programs, as
determined by the secretary.  The amount to be transferred to any
county for a fiscal year may be increased or decreased by the
secretary to provide that, insofar as those transferred unclaimed
refundable gas tax funds for apportionment to the counties are
available, no county shall receive smaller combined apportionments of
gas taxes and unclaimed refundable gas taxes than that county would
have received had the gas taxes been apportioned without the transfer
required by Section 8352.5, as determined by the secretary, except
that the amount of unclaimed refundable gas tax funds to be
transferred to any county for a fiscal year may be increased or
decreased by the secretary to compensate for incorrect previous
transfers to that county.
   (d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2001.
  SEC. 3.  Section 2282 is added to the Food and Agricultural Code,
to read:
   2282.  (a) Except as provided in Section 2282.5, the Secretary of
Food and Agriculture or the Director of Pesticide Regulation may
allocate annually to each county an amount determined by the
secretary or the director not to exceed one-third of the amount
expended by the county during the previous fiscal year for the
programs of joint responsibility.  The allocations apply to and shall
be made from funds appropriated to the secretary or the director for
purposes of carrying out activities of joint responsibility with the
commissioners at the local levels.
   (b) The annual report to the Legislature described in Section 2281
shall include findings for each of the following joint programs,
including the amounts allocated to, and expended by, the counties in
the previous fiscal year and the proposed amount to be allocated by
the secretary for each program for the ensuing budget year:
   (1) Pest detection.
   (2) Pest eradication.
   (3) Pest management control.
   (4) Pest exclusion.
   (5) Seed inspection.
   (6) Nursery inspection.
   (7) Fruit and vegetable quality control.
   (8) Egg quality control.
   (9) Apiary inspection.
   (10) Crop statistics.
   The report also shall specify the programs that have been
augmented with state funds each year since 1980 because of new
legislative mandates, or because of pest infestations or outbreaks
occurring since that date, and the annual amounts of those
augmentations.
   (c) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2000, and as
of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is
enacted before July 1, 2000, deletes or extends that date.
  SEC. 4.  Section 2282 of the Food and Agricultural Code, as amended
by Section 5 of Chapter 870 of the Statutes of 1998, is amended to
read:
   2282.  (a) The Secretary of Food and Agriculture or the Director
of Pesticide Regulation may allocate annually to each county an
amount determined by the secretary or the director not to exceed
one-third of the amount expended by the county during the previous
fiscal year for the programs of joint responsibility under the
jurisdiction of the secretary or director, as applicable.  The
allocations shall be made from funds appropriated to the secretary or
the director for purposes of carrying out activities of joint
responsibility with the commissioners at the local levels.
   (b) The annual report to the Legislature required by Section 2281
shall include findings for each of the following joint programs,
including the amounts allocated to, and expended by, the counties in
the previous fiscal year and the proposed amount to be allocated by
the secretary for each program for the ensuing budget year:
   (1) Pest detection.
   (2) Pest eradication.
   (3) Pest management control.
   (4) Pest exclusion.
   (5) Seed inspection.
   (6) Nursery inspection.
   (7) Fruit and vegetable quality control.
   (8) Egg quality control.
   (9) Apiary inspection.
   (10) Crop statistics.
   The report shall also specify the programs that have been
augmented with state funds each year since 1980 because of new
legislative mandates, or because of pest infestations or outbreaks
occurring since that date, and the annual amounts of those
augmentations.
   (c) This section shall become operative July 1, 2000.
  SEC. 5.  Section 2282.5 is added to the Food and Agricultural Code,
to read:
   2282.5.  (a) The development of work plans for allocation of the
funding appropriated in the Budget Act to the department for local
assistance for agricultural plant and animal pest and disease
prevention shall be the responsibility of the department.  The
department shall establish criteria for the development of the work
plans and for allocating the appropriated funds.
   (b) Of the amount appropriated in the Budget Act to the department
for local assistance for agricultural plant and animal pest and
disease prevention, five million five hundred thousand dollars
($5,500,000) shall be utilized solely for high-risk pest exclusion
activities.  The work plans for the exclusion of high-risk pests
shall be developed by the department with the county agricultural
commissioners and in consultation with affected industry
representatives.  In order to determine the effectiveness of
high-risk pest exclusion programs in each county, the criteria
established by the department for the work plan shall include, but
need not be limited to, the following:
   (1) The number of high-risk plant shipments entering each county.

   (2) The number of high-risk entry points in each county.
   (3) The number of state action quarantine pests intercepted or
detected annually in each county.
   (4) The work hours expended by each county in conducting exclusion
of high-risk pests.
   (5) The rate of interceptions and rejections per inspection
activity.
   (c) To remain eligible for funding under this section, a county
shall maintain its support of ongoing operational costs of the county
agricultural commissioner programs listed in subdivision (b) of
Section 2282, at 1997-98 fiscal year levels.
   (d) Funds allocated for high-risk pest exclusion activities
pursuant to subdivision (b) may not be expended for any purpose other
than the exclusion or detection of high-risk pests consistent with
the work plans prescribed in subdivision (a) or scientific
evaluation.  Funds allocated by each county on or after September 28,
1998, shall not be allocated to other programs listed in subdivision
(b) of Section 2282 until the county work plan is approved by the
department consistent with the funding appropriated in the Budget Act
of 1999 to the department for local assistance for agricultural
plant and animal pest and disease prevention for this purpose.
   (e) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2000, and as
of January 1, 2001, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that
is enacted before January 1, 2001, deletes or extends the dates on
which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
  SEC. 6.  Section 2287 is added to the Food and Agricultural Code,
to read:
   2287.  Whenever the commissioner determines that it is necessary
to more effectively or more efficiently carry out a program listed in
subdivision (b) of Section 2282, the commissioner may enter into a
mutual aid agreement with other counties for the purpose of sharing
staff, equipment, expertise, information, and other resources
necessary to meet the needs of the program.
  SEC. 7.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect.  The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to make changes to certain provisions affecting
agriculture prior to their repeal, thereby protecting public health
and safety, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
